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48 1936

COURTS OF JUSTICE ACT, 1936

PART II.

The Supreme Court and the High Court.

Increase in number of judges of the Supreme Court.

4. —(1) So much of section 5 of the Principal Act as enacts that the Supreme Court shall consist of three judges is hereby repealed, and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted that the Supreme Court shall consist of five judges, of whom the president shall be the Chief Justice.

(2) The provisions of Part I of the Principal Act in relation to the Supreme Court and the judges thereof (including the provisions of section 5 thereof in relation to the respective titles of the Chief Justice and of each of the other judges) shall, save as expressly repealed by this section, continue to apply and have effect notwithstanding the increase made by this section in the number of the said judges.

(3) Notwithstanding the increase made by this section in the number of the judges of the Supreme Court, any appeal to or other matter cognisable by the Supreme Court may be heard and determined by such number, not less than three nor more than five, of the judges of the Supreme Court (including judges who are, by virtue of section 6 or section 7 of the Principal Act, additional judges of the Supreme Court) as the Chief Justice or in his absence, the senior ordinary judge of the Supreme Court for the time being available shall determine in respect of each such appeal or other matter.

(4) Section 2 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1928 (No. 15 of 1928), is hereby amended by the deletion of all words from the words “or in the event” where they secondly occur to the end of the section and the substitution therefor of the words “who is for the time being available”, and the said section shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

(5) This section shall come into operation on such day as the Executive Council shall by order fix for that purpose.

Sitting of Supreme Court judges in the High Court.

5. —(1) Whenever, owing to the illness of a judge of the High Court or for any other reason, the full number of the judges of that Court is not available for the transaction of the business thereof or, on account of the volume of business to be transacted in the High Court or for any other reason arising from the state of business in that Court, it is expedient to increase temporarily the number of judges available for the purposes of the High Court, the Chief Justice may request any ordinary judge or judges of the Supreme Court to sit in the High Court as an additional judge thereof, and every judge of the Supreme Court so requested shall sit in the High Court.

(2) Whenever an ordinary judge of the Supreme Court sits in the High Court in pursuance of this section he shall be an additional judge of the High Court for all the purposes of that Court.

(3) No ordinary judge of the Supreme Court who holds office as such judge at the passing of this Act shall be required by virtue of this section to sit in the High Court save with his own consent.

Qualification of judge of the High Court for appointment as judge of the Supreme Court.

6. —It is hereby enacted and declared that a judge of the High Court shall be and be deemed always to have been qualified for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court.

The Judicial Commissioner of the Irish Land Commission.

7. —(1) Every judge of the High Court who, at any time after the commencement of Part I of the Principal Act and before the passing of this Act, discharged the office of Judicial Commissioner of the Irish Land Commission shall be deemed to have been, while so discharging such office, duly assigned in manner prescribed by law within the meaning of section 3 of the Land Law (Commission) Act, 1923 (No. 27 of 1923), to discharge that office.

(2) The President of the High Court shall, from time to time as occasion requires, assign a judge of the High Court to discharge the office of Judicial Commissioner of the Irish Land Commission, and the President of the High Court may, whenever he thinks proper so to do, terminate any such assignment previously made by him.

(3) The President of the High Court may, whenever the judge for the time being assigned by him under the next preceding sub-section of this section to discharge the office of Judicial Commissioner of the Irish Land Commission is temporarily unable owing to other public duties or services temporarily imposed on him or on account of illness or for any other sufficient cause to discharge the duties of the said office, assign temporarily (without terminating the assignment of the said judge) another judge of the High Court to discharge during such inability the said office.

(4) Every judge of the High Court who shall be assigned under this section to discharge the office of Judicial Commissioner of the Irish Land Commission (including a judge so assigned temporarily) shall be deemed to be so assigned in manner prescribed by law within the meaning of section 3 of the Land Law (Commission) Act, 1923 (No. 27 of 1923), and that section shall apply and have effect accordingly.

Pensions of judges of the High Court and the Supreme Court.

8. —Where a person in receipt of a pension under section 14 of the Principal Act is employed in a situation remunerated out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, then—

(a) such pension shall not be payable in respect of any period during which the remuneration of such person in such situation is equal to or greater than his remuneration in the judicial office in respect of which he is entitled to such pension, and

(b) so much only of such pension shall be payable in respect of any period during which the remuneration of such person in such situation is less than his remuneration in the said judicial office as with his remuneration in such situation will amount to his remuneration in the said judicial office.

Transfer of certain jurisdictions from Chief Justice to High Court.

9. —(1) The jurisdiction which, was transferred to and vested in the Chief Justice by sub-section (1) of section 19 of the Principal Act shall, on the appointed day, become and be transferred to the High Court and shall thenceforth be exercised by the President of the High Court or, if and whenever the said President so directs, by an ordinary judge of the High Court for the time being assigned in that behalf by the said President.

(2) As on and from the appointed day—

(a) references in the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act, 1871, and the Acts amending the same and any rules and orders made thereunder to “the Lord Chancellor entrusted as aforesaid” shall, notwithstanding anything contained in section 3 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1928 (No. 15 of 1928), be construed and have effect as references to the judge of the High Court for the time being exercising the jurisdiction transferred to the High Court by this section, and

(b) the powers conferred on the Chief Justice by section 4 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1928 , shall become and be transferred to and exercisable by the President of the High Court.

(3) Unless or until otherwise provided by the Oireachtas, the office of the Registrar to the Chief Justice shall, on and after the appointed day, continue to exist and be constituted as it exists and is constituted immediately before the appointed day, save that on and after the appointed day—

(a) the said office shall be styled and known as the Office of Wards of Court, and

(b) the Registrar to the Chief Justice shall be styled and known as the Registrar of Wards of Court, and

(c) the said office shall cease to be attached to the Chief Justice and shall become and be attached to the President of the High Court, but shall not be or become an office attached to the High Court within the meaning of the Court Officers Act, 1926 (No. 27 of 1926), and shall not be or become subject to the superintendence or control of the Master of the High Court, and

(d) all jurisdictions and powers in relation to the said office and the said Registrar respectively which are, immediately before the appointed day, exercisable by the Chief Justice shall become and be exercisable by the Judge of the High Court who is for the time being exercising the jurisdiction transferred to the High Court by this section, and

(e) no business relating to the exercise of the jurisdictions which were transferred to and vested in the Chief Justice by sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 19 of the Principal Act shall be transacted in the said office.

(4) On and after the appointed day—

(a) all such business in relation to the exercise of the jurisdictions which were transferred to the Chief Justice by sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 19 of the Principal Act as was transacted in the office of the Registrar to the Chief Justice before the appointed day shall be transferred to and transacted in the office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court, and

(b) the Registrar of the Supreme Court shall act as registrar to the Chief Justice in relation to the exercise by the Chief Justice of the said jurisdictions which were transferred to him by sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 19 of the Principal Act, and

(c) the Registrar of the Supreme Court shall be subject to the directions of the Chief Justice in regard to the transaction of the business transferred to the Registrar of the Supreme Court by this sub-section.

(5) The Minister for Justice may, by order made after consultation with the Chief Justice and the President of the High Court, appoint a day not later than six months after the passing of this Act to be the appointed day for the purposes of this section.

(6) On and after the appointed day, the authority for the time being having power to make rules of court in relation to the High Court shall be the rule-making authority in relation to the jurisdiction transferred to the High Court by this section, and for that purpose the exercise of that jurisdiction shall be included in the business of the High Court.

Appeals against fishery bye-laws.

10. —(1) The appeal under sub-section (4) of section 28 of the Fisheries Act, 1925 (No. 32 of 1925), against a bye-law, definition, rule, regulation, or order shall lie to the High Court in lieu of the court constituted under that sub-section and the High Court shall have, in respect of every such appeal, all the powers conferred by the said sub-section on the said court constituted thereunder.

(2) An appeal to the High Court by virtue of this section may be heard by one or by two or more judges of the High Court as may be convenient, and the order of the High Court on any such appeal shall be final and conclusive and not appealable.

(3) Sub-section (5) of the said section 28 of the Fisheries Act, 1925 , shall apply to every order of the High Court on an appeal by virtue of this section in like manner as the said sub-section applies to the orders mentioned therein.

Remittal and transfer of actions by the High Court.

11. —(1) An application under section 25 of the Principal Act for the remittal or transfer of an action pending in the High Court may be made at any time after an appearance is entered therein and before service of notice of trial therein and, where the summons in such action is required by rules of court to be set down for hearing before the Master of the High Court, notwithstanding that such summons has not been so set down.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 25 of the Principal Act the following provisions shall have effect in relation to the remittal or transfer of actions under that section, that is to say:—

(a) an action shall not be remitted or transferred under the said section if the High Court is satisfied that, having regard to all the circumstances, and notwithstanding that such action could have been commenced in the Circuit Court, it was reasonable that such action should have been commenced in the High Court;

(b) an action for the recovery of a liquidated sum shall not be remitted or transferred under the said section unless the plaintiff consents thereto or the defendant either satisfies the High Court that he has a good defence to such action or some part thereof or discloses facts which, in the opinion of the High Court, are sufficient to entitle him to defend such action.

Limitation on amount of plaintiff's costs in certain High Court actions.

12. —(1) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to the amount of the costs recoverable by the plaintiff in an action commenced and heard in the High Court, that is to say:—

(a) in any action of tort or of breach of promise of marriage, where the amount of the damages recovered by the plaintiff is not less than one hundred pounds and not more than three hundred pounds the plaintiff shall not be entitled to recover more costs than he would have been entitled to recover if the action had been brought in the Circuit Court, unless the judge hearing the action grants a special certificate under this section;

(b) in any action of tort or of breach of promise of marriage, where the amount of the damages recovered by the plaintiff is less than one hundred pounds the plaintiff shall not be entitled to recover more costs than whichever of the following amounts is the lesser, that is to say, the amount of such damages or the amount of costs which he would have been entitled to recover if the action had been brought in the Circuit Court, unless the judge hearing the action grants a special certificate under this section;

(c) in any action founded on contract (other than actions for the recovery of a liquidated sum) or for damages for breach of contract (other than for breach of promise of marriage), where the amount recovered by the plaintiff does not exceed three hundred pounds the plaintiff shall not be entitled to recover more costs than he would have been entitled to recover if the action had been brought in the Circuit Court unless the judge hearing such action grants a special certificate under this section;

(d) in any action for the recovery of a liquidated sum, where the amount recovered by the plaintiff exceeds one hundred pounds but does not exceed three hundred pounds the plaintiff shall not be entitled to recover more costs than he would have been entitled to recover if the action had been brought in the Circuit Court, unless the judge hearing such action grants a special certificate under this section;

(e) in any action for the recovery of a liquidated sum, where the amount recovered by the plaintiff exceeds twenty-five pounds but does not exceed one hundred pounds, the plaintiff shall not be entitled to recover more costs than he would have been entitled to recover if the action had been brought in the Circuit Court;

(f) in any action for the recovery of a liquidated sum, where the amount recovered by the plaintiff does not exceed twenty-five pounds the plaintiff shall not be entitled to recover more costs than he would have been entitled to recover if the action had been brought in the District Court;

(g) in any action of ejectment, where such action is within the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court the plaintiff shall not be entitled to recover more costs than he would have been entitled to recover if the action had been brought in the Circuit Court, unless the judge hearing such action grants a special certificate under this section.

(2) In any action referred to in the next preceding sub-section of this section in relation to which the grant of a special certificate by the judge is mentioned, the judge hearing such action may, on the application of the plaintiff, grant a special certificate in writing that, in the opinion of such judge, it was reasonable, owing to the substantial or important nature of the action or the importance of any question of law involved therein that the action should have been commenced in the High Court.

(3) It shall not be lawful for rules of court to contain or impose any restriction on the amount of the costs recoverable by any party from any other party in any action or other proceeding, but nothing in this sub-section shall prevent the insertion in rules of court of a restriction on the amount of the costs recoverable which is identical with a restriction imposed by this section nor the fixing by rules of court of the amount recoverable by any person as and for the costs and expenses incurred by him in the doing of any specified thing in any particular form of action or other proceeding.